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Yikes!

On Friday, one ofNicki Minaj's backup dancers got bitten by a snake on stage while the rapper performed her new song "Anaconda" during a rehearsal for the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. The animal is a 6-foot boa constrictor, E! News has learned.

The female performer, a contortionist, was treated on the scene by a medic and then transported to a hospital,MTV Newsreported. It said the snake, a Dumeril's boa named Rocky, bit the woman on the inside of her left hand and quoted the director of production safety for Viacom Media Networks, which owns the cable channel, as saying that her injury was not life-threatening.

The snake's handler had been watching the performance and after the incident, it was halted and Minaj rushed to the dancer to check on her,MTV Newssaid.

(Pictured above: A Demuril's boa, which was not involved in the incident.)

The animal has been used in performances for 15 years, MTV News said. Dumeril's boas are non-venomous, originated in Madagascar, feast mainly on rodents and are generally non-aggressive. When they do attack, they typically wrap their bodies around their prey.

A different snake, either another boa or a python, will take Rocky's place during Minaj's live performance at the VMAs, MTV News reported. The ceremony takes place on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

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